Tropical Storm Lala has formed in the Central Pacific and is taking aim at the Hawaiian Islands, where heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous surf are expected by late Friday.

Potential impacts from the storm could range from "devastating to catastrophic" and could lead to evacuations, the NWS warned.

Storm gains strength: Lala formed Thursday with 40 mph winds and could approach the Big Island near hurricane strength early Saturday, bringing heavy rain and high surf. Hurricane watch issued: A hurricane watch is in effect for Hawaii County, warning of ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Tropical Storm Lala is expected to bring life-threatening flooding and monstrous waves of up to 30 feet to Hawaii. Tropical Storm Olivia was the first-ever landfall recorded on the ...

The strongest of these Central and Eastern Pacific hurricanes is Lowell, which peaked twice as a Category 5 storm over the Labor Day weekend and was expected to pass just west of Kauai and Niihau on Monday night, forcing a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch for Kauai County and a tropical storm watch for Oahu (see below).

Tropical Storm Moke is expected to stay south of the Hawaiian Islands this weekend, but emergency officials are watching the system closely as it’s expected to bring up to 15 inches of rain to parts of the already-­saturated Big Island.